Blog

I have a thing for interesting machines, especially the type where there is a lot going on and you can get lost following things through and working out how everything functions.
Cool machines
One m...

It's been a few months since I have worked on the LED display/tower/thing so I have decided to try and get the physical construction finished.
I had left the rear of the enclosure open with the elect...

Last year I built a lighting system for one of the exhibits for the Christmas at Kew Gardens event, this worked really well but it was also designed as a more generic controller for generating a light...

As part of my continued work updating and fixing my robotic platform Kevin I have been looking at the control system.
The Old
Several years ago when I was building a quadcopter I came across the fli...

Back in 2013 I started building a robotics platform or Kevin as I christened it. This was a really fun thing to work on but the motors eventually started to fall apart so I abandoned the project a yea...

One of the most important, if not the most important part of a home automation system is being able to actually control devices. This may be turning on heater or a light or perhaps even opening a wind...

As part of my home automation system I need to collect data about the environment, I have been doing this for sometime with a system I had previously built around the NRF24L01 wireless device. I was u...

I have loved the idea of the Nest thermostat for some time but living in a rented home means I can't make use of a product like this, not having central heating also presents a problem!
A couple of w...

I really enjoy making things out of wood but I don't often get a chance or have a reason but after watching some videos from the amazing Jimmy Diresta I decided to spend an afternoon making a light ba...

I have just started work on a 'Drawer Slide CNC', this is basically a poor mans CNC as rather than using accurate high quality bearings and rails you use a pair of drawer slides.
I have started this p...

After a week of experimenting I have made some decisions with my laser engraver but I still have a lot left to decide.
I am going to publish regular video updates for this project, the first of which...

Last week I stumbled across the MicroSlice on kickstarter, this is a mini laser engraver and cutter made from laser cut wood, salvaged dvd drive parts and some electronics.
It looks really cool but it...

I have been working on the second version of status light for a little while now and I have made progress in a few areas.
One thing I wanted to improve over the first one was the mounting and general...

Over the past year or two I have done some work setting up dashboards and whilst they can be really cool the displays get a little dull over time. With this in mind I started work on a physical status...

A couple of months ago I decided to try and move into product development, not a complete switch of career but perhaps moving a percentage of my time to building real things.
This is a change that has...